Crowded noisy job fairs

[vergil96]

I have been looking for a job. My university is hosting a job fair every half a year. One of them is going to be soon. However, I have panic attacks when I have to go to crowded noisy places and the job fairs are crowded and they play loud music to be fun. Since I have been avoiding such places, I'm amazed at how good mood I have, it literally cured me from anxiety and the positive impact has spread on a number of areas of my life. Having that in mind, I would much rather not go to the job fairs. I'm also afraid that I might get very nervous and will struggle to engage with the recruiters because of it, because I won't be feeling fine.

However, it's an occasion to get to know a couple of firms that interest me without an interview, and perhaps have some of the application and work choice process already behind me. It's also easier for me to be noticed and remembered when I meet e.g. a recruiter in person first. A large problem with the application process is that firms get loads of CVs and most of them are never read, even if the candidate is perfectly fine.

Do you have advice how to survive the job fairs? Or to skip them entirely and engage with the firms in another way? I would very much prefer the latter.

 

[jsilver256]

I've been a hiring manager-slash-executive. I'll tell you how to get a job, or at least get an interview.

Job fairs are overrated and I think diversity candidates benefit the most from them - which may or may not be the case for you. I personally would not bother with job fairs unless they offered on-the-spot interviewing.

The best way to get noticed, by far, is to get a reference from someone who works at the company. These get "flagged" in the systems and put at the top of the priority list.

Keep in mind that internal referrals often make the referrer a bonus, so there is financial incentive for them to refer you.

Add as many people - classmates, relatives, former coworkers, etc - you know on your LinkedIn as possible. Add a personalized message to remind them who they are ("we took algorithms class together with Dr. Stone").

When you've finished adding all the people you know, look up where they work. Find candidate positions on the company's website. Message your connection on LinkedIn, link to that role, and say, "I think I'm a good fit for this role. Can you please refer me to this role?" And if they say yes ask what you need to do. Some will want your resume. Some will want you to apply to the job.

When submitting your resume, make sure it checks all the criteria on the hiring manager's skillsets. Use ChatGPT to help if needed. You likely will have to customize the resume for each position applied.

For God's sake, do not have the "Open to Work" or "Looking for Work" badge on LinkedIn. Recruiters actively assume these are desperate.

I assume that as you are still in university, you are seeking an entry-level job. I don't know about your field, but in mine, resume/grades are as not important at that stage as being able to pass interviews and demonstrate knowledge.

 

[Outdated]

Linkedin seems to be very popular these days but I've never used it. Never even had an account until recently and I only got that so I could track down someone I was looking for.

I moved around the country a bit and every time you move to a new state you are essentially starting out again, you're an unknown. I'd research different companies and make a list of the ones that I thought I'd like to work for, then go and visit them.

Not phone. Not write a letter. Physically walk through the front door and introduce myself.

It has a very different impact on people and catches their attention.

 

[Yeshuasdaughter]

Yeah, you can miss me with all that. If it's a big, crowded networking event, my storm shutters all are activated. I clam up, and become a shy violet. My eyes seek the quiet corner, the empty seat. I look outside and see trees in the breeze, calling to me like a siren's song.

But I have to talk, and put my best foot forward. So I have two choices, leave early and go get an emotional support strawberry cheesecake milkshake, or the inevitable and unpleasant- it's time to be an actress.

It's exhausting. And I'm really bad at it. By the end of it all, on the inside, I'm like a cat in a bathtub, clawing at the walls to get out.

Every big event like that, I have ever attended, after all that masking, I end up needing to go home and take a long nap and then stare at a wall for the rest of the day, rarely talking or doing anything. Needing at the same time, to be alone, but also craving deeply, a long warm hug from a trusted person.

Looking back, I have never ever gotten a job or any other opportunity from a big event like that. Every opportunity I've ever achieved has been from a one on one interview setting.

Do things the way it works for you as an individual. We are not all the same.

 

[jsilver256]

Linkedin seems to be very popular these days but I've never used it. Never even had an account until recently and I only got that so I could track down someone I was looking for.

I moved around the country a bit and every time you move to a new state you are essentially starting out again, you're an unknown. I'd research different companies and make a list of the ones that I thought I'd like to work for, then go and visit them.

Not phone. Not write a letter. Physically walk through the front door and introduce myself.

It has a very different impact on people and catches their attention.

The advice I gave is for big corporate jobs. Your advice is still very useful and applicable for small businesses. Very underrated jobs, and they still need coders, etc.

 

[VictorR]

For me, job fairs are primarily an opportunity to do informational interviews of your own.

For example, who did the employer send - some HR reps and managers, or did they send some of their regular employees as well?

If the latter, things I like to ask may include...
1) Their background / what brought them to that organization
2) What's a typical day like in their job
3) Variety of tasks
4) Ability to move into other positions (both lateral and up)
5) What they like about their job
6) What suggestions they may have for someone interested in that organization or in the field they're in, generally

 

[vergil96]

I've been a hiring manager-slash-executive. I'll tell you how to get a job, or at least get an interview.

Job fairs are overrated and I think diversity candidates benefit the most from them - which may or may not be the case for you. I personally would not bother with job fairs unless they offered on-the-spot interviewing.

The best way to get noticed, by far, is to get a reference from someone who works at the company. These get "flagged" in the systems and put at the top of the priority list.

Keep in mind that internal referrals often make the referrer a bonus, so there is financial incentive for them to refer you.

Add as many people - classmates, relatives, former coworkers, etc - you know on your LinkedIn as possible. Add a personalized message to remind them who they are ("we took algorithms class together with Dr. Stone").

When you've finished adding all the people you know, look up where they work. Find candidate positions on the company's website. Message your connection on LinkedIn, link to that role, and say, "I think I'm a good fit for this role. Can you please refer me to this role?" And if they say yes ask what you need to do. Some will want your resume. Some will want you to apply to the job.

When submitting your resume, make sure it checks all the criteria on the hiring manager's skillsets. Use ChatGPT to help if needed. You likely will have to customize the resume for each position applied.

For God's sake, do not have the "Open to Work" or "Looking for Work" badge on LinkedIn. Recruiters actively assume these are desperate.

I assume that as you are still in university, you are seeking an entry-level job. I don't know about your field, but in mine, resume/grades are as not important at that stage as being able to pass interviews and demonstrate knowledge.

Thank you! That helps a lot!

Linkedin seems to be very popular these days but I've never used it. Never even had an account until recently and I only got that so I could track down someone I was looking for.

I moved around the country a bit and every time you move to a new state you are essentially starting out again, you're an unknown. I'd research different companies and make a list of the ones that I thought I'd like to work for, then go and visit them.

Not phone. Not write a letter. Physically walk through the front door and introduce myself.

It has a very different impact on people and catches their attention.

I agree, speaking to someone in person makes a very different impact. It sounds like a good idea too to visit in person the companies for which it is possible (I would want to see the building anyway before getting hired, the surroundings have a lot of impact for me)

 

[Misty Avich]

I went to a job fair once (when I was unemployed). It was full of mothers with fractious kids running all over the place, and I couldn't concentrate. I felt like I was in a child's playground.

 

[vergil96]

I'm not going.

It's far easier to talk to people individually. I have done that. With good results.